Favorites, Favories, Who's Got My Favorites

Someone thought it would be fun to ask for our 25 favorite (not best) albums, so I tried to oblige. How about this for a list:

The Byrds: Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Howard Tate: Howard Tate
The Grateful Dead: Workingman's Dead
Mott the Hoople: All the Young Dudes
Big Star: Radio City
Roxy Music: Siren
Fleetwood Mac: Rumors
Television: Marquee Moon
Neil Young: Rust Never Sleeps
The Psychedelic Furs: The Psychedelic Furs
The Blasters: Non-Fiction
Katrina & the Waves: Katrina & the Waves
The Dbs: Like This
New Order: Brotherhood
Camper van Beethoven: Camper van Beethoven
Pet Shops Boys: Actually
Lucinda Williams: Lucinda Williams
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
Laurie Anderson: Strange Angels
The Chills: Submarine Bells
The Coup: Steal This Album
Imperial Teen: Seasick
Moby: Play
Hamell on Trial: Ed's Not Dead
Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation's Dark

Interesting list, huh? Some all time greats, some personal choices. Except it wasn't the list I submitted. How about this list:

Otis Redding: Dictionary of Soul
Dusty Springfield: Dusty in Memphis
Derek and the Dominoes: Layla
Creedance Clearwater Revival: Cosmo's Factory
Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells a Story
Michael Hurley et al: Have Moicy
Hot Chocolate: Cicero Park
The Clash: The Clash
Prince: Dirty Mind
Richard & Linda Thompson: Shoot Out the Lights
Professor Longhair: The Last Mardi Gras
Franco & Rochereau: Omona Wapi
Rosanne Cash: Rhythm & Romance
Husker Du: Candy Apple Grey
Robert Cray Band: Strong Persuader
REM: Document
Too Much Joy: Son of Sam I Am
Marshall Crenshaw: Good Evening
The Bottle Rockers: The Brooklyn Side
The Archers of Loaf: Vee Vee
Pavement: Brighten the Corners
The Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
Warren Zevon: My Ride's Here
Buck 65: Talking Honky Blues
Fountains of Wayne: Welcome Interstate Managers

I can be quirky, can't I? Guess what? That wasn't the list I submitted either. This was:

The Beatles: The Beatles Second Album
The Kinks: Face to Face
The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground
Tom T. Hall: In Search of a Song
Chris Smither: Don't It Drag On
Jimmy Cliff et al: The Harder They Come
John Prine: Sweet Revenge
Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy
Van Morrison: Saint Dominic's Preview
Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
Eno: Another Green World
The Wild Tchoupitoulos
Wire: Pink Flag
Rockpile: Seconds of Pleasure
ABC: The Lexicon of Love
Rank & File: Rank & File
The Go-Betweens: Tallulah
Dramarama: Box-Office Bomb
P.M. Dawn - Of the Heart... (the 1st album)
Orchestra Baobab: On Verra Ca
Luna: Penthouse
Belle & Sebastian: If You're Feeling Sinister
Kanye West: The College Dropout
Wussy: Funeral Dress

If you'll notice, no artist gets more than one mention, there are no best ofs, no compilations, no boxes. My point, such as it is, is that limiting me to 25 albums makes the final choice somewhat random. Like, what happened to The Rolling Stones?